One of USC’s own, Edward Kleinbard, writes in the HuffPo:
General Electric’s global effective tax rate for 2010 was 7.4%. Pfizer’s was 11.9%; Cisco came in at 17.5%. The nominal U.S. corporate tax rate is 35%.
Each company has its own tax story, but all — like other multinationals — have for years relied heavily on low-taxed foreign income to drive down their worldwide tax obligations, including those of their U.S. businesses.